Patients Rights Charter
What you can expect from us, and what the law already gives you and your child
The first half is our promise, in our own words. The second is the National Patients' Rights Charter and the Children's Act, which are not ours to soften.
Our promise to you, and the rights the law already gives you
Somewhere this week, a parent sat in a consulting room and heard something they were not expecting about their child's eyes. They nodded, they took in the science, and then they stepped back into ordinary life holding a hundred human questions.
We built KiDS EYES for that parent. This charter is our promise to you: how we will treat you, what you can expect from us, and what you are always entitled to ask for. You do not have to earn any of this. It is yours from the moment you walk through our door, online or in person.
This page has two halves. The first is what we promise, in our own words. The second is what South African law already gives you and your child, taken from the National Patients' Rights Charter and the Children's Act. The second half is not ours to soften, so we have not.
With warmth, plain answers, and no judgement
- To be met with warmth, not judgement. However worried, tired or unsure you are, you will be treated with kindness and respect. There are no silly questions here.
- To plain, honest answers. You have the right to understand what is going on with your child in language that makes sense, without a wall of jargon. If we use a medical word, we will explain it.
- To understand your child's condition and the choices. You are entitled to know what we think is happening, why, what the options are, what each one involves, and what happens if you do nothing.
- To honesty, including about uncertainty. Medicine does not have a neat answer for everything. Where we are not sure, or where a result cannot be promised, we will tell you plainly rather than dress it up. We would rather be honest than impressive.
- To your child's dignity and comfort. Your child will be treated gently and with respect for who they are, at every visit and in everything we make for them.
You do, and you may take your time about it
- To be part of every decision. Nothing is done to your child without informed consent. You are the expert on your child, and you have the right to be heard and to weigh in.
- To take your time, to say no, and to change your mind. You may ask for time to think, ask for a second opinion, decline a recommendation, or change a decision later. Choosing what is right for your family will never count against you.
- To fair dealing, with no pressure. We will never use fear to sell you something, or push a product or a paid service you do not need. What we recommend, we recommend because we believe it helps children's eyes, and the choice is always yours.
Where the law says the decision is your child's rather than yours, that is set out under who may consent below. It is a real rule and we follow it.
Support for the real-life part, and a place to be heard
- To support beyond the consulting room. The medical instruction is only half the journey. You have the right to practical help with the real-life part: getting the patch to stay on, talking to the teacher, helping your child feel proud rather than different, and a community of families walking the same path.
- To privacy. Your information, and your child's, is treated with care and kept confidential. What we hold, why, who sees it, and how you can access or correct it is set out in full in our Privacy Policy.
- To be heard when something goes wrong. If we get something wrong, or you are unhappy, you have the right to tell us, to be taken seriously, and to a fair and prompt response.
Nine rights, and they are not ours to give or take away
These come from the National Patients' Rights Charter, developed by the Department of Health and agreed by the Health Professions Council of South Africa, under the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. They apply to you and to your child in any practice in the country, including ours.
- A healthy and safe environment. Everyone has a right to an environment that will not harm their physical or mental health or well-being, including adequate water supply, sanitation and waste disposal, and protection from environmental danger such as pollution, ecological degradation or infection.
- Participation in decision-making. Everyone has the right to take part in decisions on matters affecting their own health.
- Access to health care, which includes: timely emergency care; treatment and rehabilitation; provision for special needs, including for newborn infants, children, pregnant women, the aged, disabled persons, patients in pain and persons living with HIV or AIDS; counselling without discrimination, coercion or violence; palliative care that is affordable and effective where an illness is incurable or terminal; a positive disposition from health care providers showing courtesy, human dignity, patience, empathy and tolerance; and health information, including what services are available and how best to use them, in a language you understand.
- Medical scheme information. A member of a medical scheme or health insurance is entitled to obtain information about that scheme, and to challenge its decisions where necessary. Being responsible for doing so rests with the member.
- Knowing who is treating you, and choosing. You have the right to know who is providing health care, and to choose a particular provider, so long as that choice is not contrary to the ethical standards that apply to that provider or facility.
- Confidentiality. Information about your health, including information about treatment, may only be disclosed with informed consent, except where the law or a court order requires it.
- Full and accurate information. You have the right to be given full and accurate information about the nature of the illness, the diagnostic procedures, the proposed treatment, the risks that go with it, and the costs involved.
- Refusal of treatment. A person may refuse treatment. The refusal may be spoken or in writing, provided it does not endanger the health of others.
- To complain. Everyone has the right to complain about health care services, to have the complaint investigated, and to receive a full response on that investigation.
The other half of the same charter
The National Patients' Rights Charter sets out responsibilities alongside the rights. They are not conditions we impose. They come with the rights above.
- To take care of your own health.
- To care for and protect the environment.
- To respect the rights of other patients and of health care providers.
- To use the health care system properly, and not to abuse it.
- To know your local health services and what they offer.
- To give health care providers relevant and accurate information for diagnosis, treatment, rehabilitation or counselling.
- To comply with the prescribed treatment or rehabilitation procedures.
- To enquire about the related costs of treatment or rehabilitation, and to arrange for payment.
- To take care of the health records in your possession.
The child's best interests come first, by law
The Children's Act 38 of 2005, as amended by Act 41 of 2007, reinforces the constitutional principle that the best interests of a child are of paramount importance in every matter concerning that child.
Where a health professional has to help a child and their caregiver reach a treatment decision, or has to make a judgement call, these are the factors that must be weighed:
- The relevant characteristics of the child, including age and gender.
- The child's physical and emotional security, and their intellectual, emotional, social and cultural development.
- Any disabilities.
- Any chronic illness.
- The need to protect the child from physical or psychological harm that may be caused by any other party.
The same rights, read for a child
- A healthy, safe and clean environment when visiting the practice.
- Timely health care, treatment and rehabilitation, provision for special needs, counselling about the diagnosis, a positive disposition from those treating them, and health information.
- Knowing who is providing their care, and having a parent, guardian or caregiver choose a particular provider, so long as that choice is not contrary to the ethical standards applying to that provider or facility.
- Having a parent, guardian or caregiver who takes responsibility for obtaining information from the medical scheme the child belongs to.
- Carrying their own responsibilities as a patient, where the child is over 12, or younger and able to understand and interpret their surroundings: to behave lawfully and without antagonism.
Usually you. From 12, it can be your child.
This surprises many parents, so it is worth reading properly. Under the Children's Act, the right to consent to medical treatment does not sit with the parent forever.
- A child under 12, or a child over 12 who does not have sufficient maturity to understand the benefits, risks, and social and other implications of the treatment, cannot consent for themselves. The parent, guardian or caregiver consents on the child's behalf.
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A child may consent to their own medical treatment, or to the
medical treatment of their own child, if both of these are true:
- the child is over the age of 12; and
- the child is of sufficient maturity and has the mental capacity to understand the benefits, risks, and social and other implications of the treatment.
Age alone is not the test. It is age and maturity, judged for the particular treatment being discussed. A twelve-year-old may have the capacity to consent to one thing and not to another.
The same test, plus a parent or guardian alongside them
A surgical operation is treated more strictly than medical treatment, and the difference matters.
- A child under 12, or a child over 12 without sufficient maturity to understand the benefits and risks of the surgery, cannot consent. The parent or guardian consents on the child's behalf.
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A child may consent to a surgical operation on themselves, or on
their own child, only if all three of these are true:
- the child is over the age of 12;
- the child is of sufficient maturity and has the mental capacity to understand the benefits, risks, and social and other implications of the operation; and
- the child is duly assisted by their parent or guardian.
That third condition is the difference. For medical treatment a capable child over 12 may consent alone. For a surgical operation they may not: a parent or guardian must assist them. Note also that for surgery the Act refers to a parent or guardian, not a caregiver.
Separate written consent is taken by the practice before any examination under anaesthetic, procedure or operation. This page explains who may give it. It is not itself consent to anything.
Four things, and none of them are hard
This works best as a partnership, so we ask a few things of you too:
- Give us honest and complete information about your child, so the care and guidance we give is the right care.
- Follow the treatment and follow-up as best your family can, and tell us when you are struggling with it, so we can help rather than judge.
- Be kind to our team, as we will be to you.
- Let us know if anything changes with your child, or if something we suggested is not working.
Tell us, and we will listen and respond fairly
Please tell us, so we can put it right. Email hello@kidseyes.co.za or call +27 10 035 0086, and we will listen and respond fairly.
You never have to come to us first. For anything to do with your child's clinical care you keep every right a patient has in South Africa, including the protections of the National Patients' Rights Charter and the ability to raise a concern directly with the Health Professions Council of South Africa. For a privacy matter you may go to the Information Regulator.
Email, phone, or come and see us
Email: hello@kidseyes.co.za
Telephone: +27 10 035 0086
Address: 18 Hollywood Drive, Northcliff, Johannesburg, 2195, South Africa
Information Officer: Carina Booysen, carina@kidseyes.co.za
